Reba did not have the whistling ending. Boogie On featured a Twist-esque jam and contained an Oye Come Va tease from Page. Both Trey and Page teased AC/DC Bag during YEM. Undermind through Zero featured Bill Kreutzmann on drums. Before the encore, Trey explained that Bittersweet Motel was being played at the request of his daughter, Bella. After Bittersweet Motel, Fish remarked that he felt lonely again and needed the second drummer back.

Show Reviews

The Red Rocks run is strong overall - and a big step up from the June '09 jamming average, heaven knows - but the run's marquee guest appearance is a sloppy, irritating mess. Leaving aside the man's GDead legacy, Kreutzmann just doesn't gel at all with Phish on these tunes, dragging down *every single tempo* in the second set and swamping Fishman's precise, feathery work. The one tune that really benefits from this leadenness is 2001, which gets a bit of a fist-pumping frat-rock energy boost (with Trey using every inch the sluggish tempo affords him). I might be misinterpreting things, but to my ears even the unfailingly generous Trey seems impatient with what's going on. Equipment problems? Rustiness? Whatever the reason, it makes for uncomfortable listening.

The (ironic) worst part: the unaugmented quartet is absolutely *devastating* on Boogie On and YEM, and closes with a triumphant Slave. But the Kreutzmann guest shot guts what should've been the best stretch of the run.

Fishman clowns around a little before the Bouncin' encore, fake-crying and calling out 'Where's Bill?!' Then, in the show's most *unintentionally* funny moment, he kicks in that crisp metronomic solo beat, instantly illuminating the difference between the amorphous wash of percussion that soaked the second set, and his own needlepoint precision.

Not to say you shouldn't relax once in a while to your favourite 1973 'Dark Star,' of course. Not that.

When I first heard about this show it was a big deal to me. Two of my favorite drummers playing together? And not only that but playing the way Billy K was accustomed to play with Mickey (totally different drummer but I digress). Well after a couple listens my advice is if you get the sit in info beforehand don't get your hopes to high.

Yes this show has excellent moments. Reba has Trey shining the whole way. Waste has an excellent guitar solo by Trey, and Kill Devil Falls is likely the best early version of the song.

The Unexpected Boogie on Opener goes into a nice groove. Then Trey takes the lead with some piercing notes. YEM is fairly standard. Once Billy K comes in things seem to feel slightly off and looser. There are tremendous moments where him and Fish are playing against each other well. And others where they aren't connecting at all. I remember reading in Billy's biography and he says (to paraphrase) that Fish hit the drums a lot lighter than he was used to with Mickey, and that he was used to Mickey smashing the crap out of the drums. Maybe that was an issue, maybe it was just the lack of playing together. Anyways it all comes together fine with Character Zero and the conclusion hits in a thunderous way that hasn't been reached before and is due in fact to both drummers.

The encore feels like a standard one to punch. But then a great Slave ensues.

Overall a decent show and a decent experiment with two drummers. Hopefully they try it again (with a little more rehearsing).

This night deserves much more than the rating it currently has.
The Character Zero ALONE is worth 5 stars.
The first set has an outstanding Reba.
The second set is unique and solid from start to finish...

Donate to Mockingbird

Contact Us

The Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.

And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.